The present invention is broadly concerned with improvements in illumination devices and, more particularly, to improved lighting units for use in video conferencing type activities.
Video conferencing has become an useful form of communication between parties for remotely conducting various forms of business, corporate meetings, training, and the like without traveling for face-to-face meetings. On a smaller or personal scale, videophone service or videotelephony enables individuals to communicate vocally and visually using special equipment. Early videophone devices used slow scan imaging techniques resulting in the periodic exchange of still images. More recent imaging techniques approach full motion, real-time video imaging.
Inexpensive video cameras and microphones have been developed for interfacing to personal computers to enable vocal and visual communication over the Internet. Web cameras or webcams can be attached to LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors, directed at the user, and interfaced to the computer through a USB (universal serial bus) port for acquiring live images of the computer user. A microphone mounted on a desk or the monitor is connected to a microphone input of the computer to receive the user's voice input. Many portable computer devices such as laptops, notebooks, netbooks, tablet computers, pad computers, and the like are provided with built-in video cameras and microphones. Most cellular or cell phones also have cameras capable of recording still or moving images. Such cameras and microphones enable computer users to engage in an informal kind of vocal and visual communication over the Internet, which is sometimes referred to as “video chatting”.
One problem which often occurs with the types of video cameras provided on and for personal computers is that the color response of such cameras and the color of ambient lighting combine to result in an unflattering facial coloring of the person imaged by the cameras. Such color rendering problems occurred previously with color film imaging and were generally overcome by the use color correction filters which could be attached to the lens of the camera. Some degree of color correction could also be applied during printing of photographs from the developed color film. However, color correction filters are not generally available for aftermarket video cameras and video cameras built into computer devices and cell phones. In most cases, the aftermarket and built-in video cameras are not adapted to have color correction filters mounted thereon.